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The Eskom Expo for Young Scientists brings awareness of the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths to the youth.

National Challenge

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills have long been identified as crucial components of a nation’s ability to grow and prosper. Given government’s growth targets for the South African economy, grass roots development of skills in these areas is non-negotiable. According to Grant Thornton’s 2009 International Business Report, 41 percent of private sector businesses in South Africa has cited the non-availability of skills as their biggest limitation to growth.

According to Professor Ian Jandrell of the University of the Witwatersrand School of Electrical & Information Engineering, and chairman of the board of directors of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, it was with these challenges in mind that the Expo was originally founded in 1980. “The Expo has continually exceeded our expectations in terms of participation and the level of the entries we receive. We are secure in the knowledge that it has already made an important contribution to the level of awareness of scientific endeavour among South Africa’s young people. With the support of Eskom and our other sponsors, we know it will continue to do so.”

Eskom Provides the Spark

Eskom became the title sponsor of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists in 2000.

The Expo’s main objective is to bring awareness of the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths to the youth, and encourage them to study these subjects at school and tertiary level. Eskom’s MD for Corporate Services, Dr Steve Lennon, says the company realised that to build the strong skills base needed for its business to succeed, Eskom had to find a way to fill up the national skills pipeline. “We took a step back and asked ourselves what the focus of our corporate social investment sponsorships should be.

Eskom decided that in order to fill the pipeline of technical skills in South Africa, we needed to ensure that learners at our schools are both aware of, and enthusiastic about, the prospect of studying and working in a technical field.”

Lennon says that initially the Expo mainly featured entries from children who would have studied maths and science anyway. “We wanted the feeder system to start including kids that were not currently doing maths and science but are capable of doing so,” he explains. “This has meant the Expo team has had to become more activist about drawing entries from rural areas, for example. It is our responsibility to identify grassroots potential in our country and nurture it.”

SA Needs Artisans and Tradesmen Given that the biggest need for technical skills falls not in the area of university-qualified engineers, but rather among artisans and tradesmen, Lennon says the categories included in the Expo have also been broadened. “We can’t all be electrical engineers, and the objective of the Expo isn’t only to groom kids for university. We need fitters and turners, electricians, coded welders. Eskom currently has to import coded welders to meet its business needs,” he says.

The Expo has already seen some success in this regard. Lennon recalls an entry from a rural school included in the Expo finals two years ago. “There wasn’t even a maths teacher at this particular school, but the learner managed to build a model car out of the materials available in a poor community – bits of wire and so on. In fact, it was a sophisticated car with working brakes, an opening and closing bonnet and a steering mechanism. This learner didn’t want to go to university, but enjoyed working with his hands, so we made an opportunity available to him.”

Lennon says learners who enter the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists do research and execute a project in one of more than two dozen possible categories. Once they have chosen their category and done the research, the resulting exhibits are presented to the public - first at their schools, and then at regional and national rounds if they manage to qualify.

Expert judges (often Eskom employees) evaluate the entries for each of the categories, and learners also have the opportunity to discuss their work with members of the public, educators and learners from other schools.

National final winners even have the opportunity to go abroad. Barend de Beer and Jason Dixon of Waterkloof High School in Pretoria each received a third prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, regarded as the most prestigious Science Fair in the world, held in Reno, Nevada, recently.

They won the American Veterinary Medical Association’s special award and third prize in the Animal Science Category. The boys, who competed in the Fair after winning gold in the Animal Science category in Eskom’s Expo for Young Scientists in October last year, won US$ 2 000 (approximately R16 800) for their entry, which examined treatment for the control of parasites on livestock and game using paintball guns.

Catch Them Early

According to Priscilla Moodley, national manager of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, participation in the Expo increases the youth’s awareness of the wonders of science, adds to their technical knowledge and broadens their scientific horizons. “We include learners from as early as grade five, and run all the way through to matric,” she explains. “Our objective is also to raise the level of awareness of the role of science in South Africa’s economy in the minds of learners.”

Moodley says the Expo generates considerable excitement among learners and educators. “In many schools, educators start talking to learners about doing projects for the Expo as soon as the curriculum starts. In fact, in many cases, the guidelines we use for the Expo are used as guidelines for the projects learners must complete for their assessment marks as part of the official curriculum,” says Moodley.

The regional finals of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists start in July and run through a number of months, leading up to the national final in Pretoria in October.

Looking forward

Says Moodley: “Without the help of sponsors like Eskom, the Expo simply wouldn’t exist. As a Section 21 nonprofit organisation, we are completely reliant on sponsorship. Not only is Eskom helping us to raise awareness of the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths skills to the South African economy, we are also working hard to make these fields more representative of the South African population in terms of gender and race.”

Moodley states that in terms of gender representation, the Expo is already exceeding targets. In terms of including learners from disadvantaged schools, strong progress is being made, although more remains to be done. “We find that disadvantaged learners often have creative ideas but lack resources,” Moodley explains. “The Eskom Innovation Fund has stepped in this year to help us identify projects that could have value if patented, and to obtain funding and develop a business plan.”

Lennon says Eskom would like to see reach of the Expo expanding to touch every single school in the country. “We’d like to see it much, much bigger. We’d like it to be seen by a much broader public, and celebrated as a festival of youthful innovation. Our ultimate vision is that every single child who wants to study maths, science and technology is given the opportunity to do so.”

C O N T A C T

For more information on the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, visit www.exposcience.co.za.

PICTURE 1

Dr Steve Lennon, MD: Corporate Services, Eskom

PICTURE 3

Priscilla Moodley, national manager of the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists